Francesco Salviati or Francesco de' Rossi (1510 – 11 November 1563) was an Italian

Mannerist Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

painter who lived and worked in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, with periods in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

and

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, ending with a long period in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where he died. He is known by various names, usually the adopted one of Francesco Salviati or Il Salviati, after an early patron, but also Francesco Rossi and Cecchino del Salviati. He worked in

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

and oils, on ambitious

history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and B ...

s, but also painted many portraits, and designed tapestries for the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...

Biography

Salviati was born in

, Italy. He apprenticed under Giuliano Bugiardini, Baccio Bandinelli, Andrea del Brescianino, and finally (in 1529–1530) Andrea del Sarto. In 1531 he travelled to Rome, where he met another pupil of Bandinelli's,

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ideol ...

, and helped to complete the frescoes on the ''Life of John the Baptist'' in the Palazzo Salviati for his patron, the Cardinal Giovanni Salviati. It is from his attachment to this household that he took on the surname. In Rome he frescoed an ''Annunciation'' in the church of San Francesco a Ripa (1533–1535). His mature style has Mannerist contortions and crowded scenes similar to the output of

Giulio Romano Giulio Pippi ( – 1 November 1546), known as Giulio Romano and Jules Romain ( , ; ), was an Italian Renaissance painter and architect. He was a pupil of Raphael, and his stylistic deviations from High Renaissance classicism help define the ...

. In 1538 he joined Jacopino del Conte, completing a fresco of the ''Visitation'' for the Oratory of

San Giovanni Battista Decollato San Giovanni Decollato (''the Beheaded John the Baptist'') is a Roman Catholic church in Rome, sited on ''via di San Giovanni Decollato'' in the Ripa rione, a narrow road named after the church. Its construction took most of the 16th century. I ...

in Rome, the church of a Florentine fraternity ministering to persons who had been condemned to execution. Salviati painted in

in 1540 alongside Vasari, and stayed for a brief time in Venice, where he frescoed decorations for the

Palazzo Grimani di Santa Maria Formosa The Palazzo Grimani of Santa Maria Formosa is a State museum, located in Venice in the Castello district, near Campo Santa Maria Formosa. History The palace can be reached by land from Ruga Giuff(map) The water entry, very used in ancient times ...

in an antique style. During this period his style shows the influences of

Parmigianino Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (11 January 150324 August 1540), also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino (, , ; "the little one from Parma"), was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, ...

. His many portrait paintings can sometimes be confused for

Bronzino Agnolo di Cosimo (; 17 November 150323 November 1572), usually known as Bronzino ( ) or Agnolo Bronzino, was an Italians, Italian Mannerism, Mannerist painter from Florence. His sobriquet, ''Bronzino'', may refer to his relatively dark skin or r ...

. In 1543 Salviati returned to Florence. Working for

Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second and last duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first grand duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Cosimo I succeeded his cousin to the duchy. ...

, he completed a fresco decoration eulogizing the Medici family (the ''Triumph of Camillus'' in the Sala dell'Udienza of the

Palazzo Vecchio The ( "Old Palace") is the town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the , which holds a copy of Michelangelo's ''David'' statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi. Originally called the ''Palazzo della Signoria'', a ...

, 1543–1545). He also designed tapestry cartoons for the recently established Arazzeria, including ''Ecce Homo'', the ''Resurrection'', and ''Joseph explains the Pharaoh's dreams''. The latter commission was awarded after a competition, which pitted him against his contemporary Florentine Mannerists Bronzino and

Pontormo Jacopo Carucci or Carrucci (; May 24, 1494 – January 2, 1557), usually known as Jacopo (da) Pontormo or simply Pontormo (), was an Italian Mannerist painter and portraitist from the Florentine School. His work represents a profound stylisti ...

. He painted a ''Deposition'' altarpiece for Santa Croce in 1547–1548. This crowded and complex subject was a key one for Italian painters of the Late Renaissance. He often travelled to Rome between 1548 and 1563, to complete various fresco series, such as the ''Wedding at Cana'' in the Oratory of the Piceni, a ''Birth of John the Baptist'' in the Oratory of

, in the

Palazzo della Cancelleria The Palazzo della Cancelleria (Palace of the Chancellery, referring to the former Apostolic Chancery of the Pope) is a Renaissance palace in Rome, Italy, situated between the present Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the Campo de' Fiori, in the rion ...

(Pallium Cappella), in the Palazzo Sacchetti (''Life of David''), and in the

Palazzo Farnese Palazzo Farnese () or Farnese Palace is one of the most important High Renaissance palaces in Rome. Owned by the Italian Republic, it was given to the French government in 1936 for a period of 99 years, and currently serves as the French e ...

. He died in Rome on 11 November 1563.

Collections

Many of his larger works are still ''in situ'', and the

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Located in the Wade Park District of University Circle, the museum is internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian art, Asian and Art of anc ...

, the

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. The art collection is known particularly for ...

, the J. Paul Getty Museum, Harvard University Art Museums, the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

, the

Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. It has one of the largest single co ...

, the Liechtenstein Museum (Vienna), the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

, the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, the Museo Poldi Pezzoli (Milan),

Museum der bildenden Künste The Museum der bildenden Künste (German: "Museum of Fine Arts") is a museum in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It covers artworks from the Late Middle Ages to Modernity. History Museum Foundation and First Museum The museum dates back to the f ...

(Leipzig), the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...

, the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

(Washington, DC), the

Pinacoteca di Brera The Pinacoteca di Brera ("Brera Art Gallery") is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan, Italy. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 20th century, an outgrowth of the cultural program of ...

(Milan), the Ringling Museum of Art (Florida), the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, the

Saint Louis Art Museum The Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) is an art museum located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. With paintings, sculptures, cultural objects, and ancient masterpieces from around the world, its three-story building stands in Forest Park in ...

, the Prado Museum (Madrid) and the

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of th ...

are among the public collections holding paintings by Salviati.

Gallery

Footnotes

References

External links

*Web Gallery of Ar
Biography of Salviati
an
''The engravings of Giorgio Ghisi''
a full-text exhibition catalogue from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Francesco de' Rossi (see index) {{DEFAULTSORT:Salviati, Francesco 1510 births 1563 deaths 16th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian Mannerist painters Painters from Florence Italian tapestry artists